Everything's Gonna Be Okay

Messy and enchanting, the series ultimately follows three wayward souls figuring out life together, and it’s hard not to want to grow alongside them.

Wildly offbeat, genuinely original and remarkably frank family comedy for the Euphoria generation. [20 Jan - 2 Feb 2020, p.9]

Much of the show's success or failure will rest on how it handles the character arcs that it has built up so far — many series achieve sublime lift-off before crashing and burning during their journey, and "Everything's Gonna Be Okay" could easily suffer that fate. But what has premiered so far is pretty damn exquisite. If the series can maintain this momentum, it could become the next big thing in American pop culture, and deservedly so.

The premise fuels the show, but doesn’t overwhelm it. More than any one scenario, this is a series about three distinct people — intense Matilda, raw nerve Genevieve, blunt and kind Nicholas — exploring what it means to be a person and part of a family. ... Watching them express their absolute loyalty to each other in ways that ring true and tender is a real joy.

Despite its more ersatz premise, Everything's Gonna Be Okay benefits both from Thomas' signature quirks and maturation as an artist, showcasing his dry, wise, singular voice.

What we get is no downer but a charming dramedy, with an oddball voice (you can almost hear that “Gonna” in Thomas’s reedy Aussie accent) and a bittersweet undercurrent (that “Gonna” is also, notably, in the future tense).

It’s a concept as old as time, told with specificity, smarts, and sincerity by [Josh] Thomas. ... And in Cromer and Press, it features two of the best and most natural kid performances in recent TV memory.

Although Okay’s setup—which smooths over logistical issues by making the family rich—comes off as contrived, it quickly evolves into a bighearted, bittersweet, sometimes perverse chronicle of three unique siblings teaching each other how to live.

While “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” addresses myriad issues, it does so with good humor, warmth and fresh approaches to an orphaned family, Nicholas’ sexuality and a child on the spectrum. Yes, this newly formed-by-circumstance family faces crises but they’re realistic with an equal mix of drama and comedy, just like real life.